Where does the time go?

It is the beginning of the school year again. I enrolled our daughter today for the last time in High School. She was not with me because, you guessed it, she was at band camp for the 4th week in a row. It was sort of surreal doing this enrollment. I went through the normal routine. "Do you have your proof of residency?" they ask me. "Yes with our new address on it" I say with a smile. Then its just the regular forms, were they signed by us and our daughter, Yes I made sure.

Each station I went to that I had to drop off a form I felt I was saying good-bye slowly to my little girl. I got to one station and a sweet teacher and dear friend was there, which gave me such comfort. This sweet lady is in my Sunday school class and is a very special person in our church so to see her warm comforting face, helped me relax a bit. She has taught my older two children since she arrived at our school, through one class or another, she has had one of our kids. I am so thankful to God that He puts good Christian people in our schools to guide our children. This lady loves our kids! She loves on them, and yet she makes them behave themselves if they ever need to be put back in line. Ya know what? I LOVE her for it too! What a blessing she is to our family! We talked for a bit and I asked her how SHE was doing, from one Mom to another, she is about to go through a change of her own next week with her family. Empty nest is setting in again at their home. Oh how I have prayed for her sweet Mamma's heart!

Anyway on to the next station I went. My heart however wanted to say, "Hey wait, slow down a bit, this is the last time I can do this for our girl." Don't you know our girl? She was the little girl who bopped right into Kindergarten with the sweetest smile on her face, ready to take on the world. "Do you know how she hurts and what makes her happy? Do you know how many memories she has made in the walls of this school?" Please do not rush me through this.

The next station beckoned me, so onward I went. I went to the next station and another sweet friend waited there for me. I was so excited to get to her because I love her so very much. She is such a sweet friend, and she too LOVES my kids! She asked about Vickie and where she was. I told her of my concern for her today. This new health issue had her not feeling well today, and I was worried for her. She understood my heart and told me she would pray for her, especially being out in the heat. See what a great friend! I might have forgot to mention, my kids go to public school. I just love how God orchestrates people to love on them, good Christian people, who know us and care about us and LOVE them, just as much as we do!

Again I was reminded of my sweet little girl who just had her long beautiful pigtails cut off for this sweet bob haircut, afraid to march into first grade, worried that no one would recognize  nor remember her. Of course that was not the case, we walked in the door hand in hand, Daddy on one side, me on the other. Wouldn't ya know it, the first person to say anything was her Principal and just commented how cute her hair was. That sweet smile appeared on my little girls face once more. Everyone remembers Vickie, she is so sweet and  She is a smiler!! Oh how I love that smile!

One more station left, asked if I wanted to buy lunch tickets, a normal answer to this would be yes, but I hesitated. I looked at the two sweet ladies sitting their and began to tell them my dilemma. See our daughter was just diagnosed with something that now every thought of food that is brought up has to be thought out. Can she have that, will that hurt her? So after speaking to them, I felt better, told them No I would not need a ticket at this time, we would wait and see. My sweet little girl who bounced out of my arms when she was 5 into a world of education and new friends, will now be walking through the doors of that school to finish off her last year of high school. I am so thankful that she has been surrounded by so many who have molded her and made her into the sweet, godly, young lady she is today. I know she has the tools to succeed in college and she will be a wonderful Pastry Chef. I love our daughter SO very much and it is an honor to be her Mom. I just keep asking myself, Where did all the time go?